100 Moments That Were Never Seen
by Laser Lance 720
Summary: 100 moments never before seen. 100 separate snapshots into the avatar world. Ch. 11 Memory: Sokka reflects on the girl in the moon the night of his wedding day and can't help but to thank her for getting him this far.
1. Introduction

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar the last Airbender. I know, you all are so surprised. But sadly, I could not channel the Blue Spirit well enough to ninja in and steal the copyright papers. Maybe after a bit more training.**

**So, the 100 theme challenge. 100 moments in the Avatar world centering around a large magnitude of characters and themes. Most of the characters present will be the main GAang (**_**get ready for a lot of Zuko, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Aang**_**) as well as a host of secondary characters (**_**Suki**_**, **_**Ozai, Azula, Mai, Ty Lee, Jet, etc.….**_**) and some of those minor characters who make great stories (**_**a mix of parents, Chan, Teo, Sangok, some White Lotus people, and so on**_**). **

**That's 'bout it. I've got all 100 prompts planned out, it's just down to finishing writing and uploading. So expect a new chapter about every couple of days to once a week. The updates will be a bit sporadic, **_**as I have a long list of other things to do as well**_**, but I expect to have this completed by the end of summer. The hundred theme challenge seemed like the best way to spend my summer before my first year in college.**

-oOo-  
_**Introduction:  
Sokka's POV**_  
-oOo-

"Okay," I sighed, sending an unsure glance towards Aang beside me, "this is really, really weird."

The Avatar merely nodded, a large smile playing across his childish features. There sat a joyful gleam in his grey eyes that left me a bit unsettled. We had just invited Prince Zuko; the biggest annoyance I have ever had to deal with, _and this was saying something,_ into our group of merry little rebels, and here was Aang, smiling optimistically; like the thought that we had just allowed our possible murderer to live with us had not crossed his mind. That boy's faith in mankind was going to get us killed one of these days. I just prayed that Princess Crazy didn't show up, Tai and La, Aang would be setting up a bunk for her as well.

"What's going on," the young voice drew my thoughts. Turning around sharply, I was greeted to the sight of Teo, wheeling towards us with Haru and Duke behind him. "The courtyards in a mess."

"And Katara was ranting about firebenders," Haru's eyes moved frantically like he was looking to see if we had the said firebender on us. Like we just put them on a leash and were taking them out for a walk with us. My mind started to wonder, imagining that a leash was exactly what we needed for Zuko; a leash and a little bell around his neck. He couldn't kill us if we had a bell on him.

"I got a firebending teacher," Aang beamed. _Of course_, I rolled my eyes, _that explains why he's so thrilled to allow the fire cracker here._

"Prince Zuko showed back up," I sighed once more.

"He saved us from Combustion Man," Aang interrupted, that cheerful tone in his voice not dying.

"I saved us from Combustion Man," I shoved my thumb into my chest, just to make the point clear. "He helped a little, but not really."

"And now he's gunna teach me firebending," Aang added; his mind obviously not where it should be. I was beginning to wonder if we needed a bell and leash for Aang as well.

"Are you sure that's a smart idea," Haru looked at Aang with an expression that spoke for all the rude names he wanted to call the Avatar, but was trying not to. I think there was a similar look on my face.

From the corner of my eye I caught a movement of blue at the end of the hall. I watched as Katara shut the door to the Angry Jerk's room, a wicked smile on her face. Her eyes spotted us and I understood what had taken place. Aang was too busy trying to convince the other three about there being some good in the prince that the four of them didn't catch the silent conversation me and Katara quickly shared.

She glanced at the door behind her and then winked at me. The smirk on her lips reached her eyes. I sent back the slightest nod. I could feel the smile crawling over my face, but couldn't stop it. The exchange seemed to make her happy, as the smile only grew larger on her face.

"Hey Katara!" Aang's voice made me jump. Glancing at the airbender; the dopey smile that was plastered on his face being able to see from miles away, I didn't say anything as he waved to my sister. From the end of the hall, came back Katara's voice; quick, stuttering and rambling something about dinner before she hastily left down another hall.

"What was that about," Duke spoke.

"Nothing, Duke," I shrugged.

"It's THE Duke!" The young child yelled, stomping in his tantrum.

"Whatever," I smirked. At the end of the hall, the door to Zuko's room opened just a fraction. From the crack came the teen in question's head and I had to suppress a chuckle. The perfectly shocked, horrified, and awestruck expression that played over the firebenders face as he scanned the halls around him was worth all of the stress this situation was putting me in. The Prince glanced in the direction that Katara had gone. As quickly as he had appeared, Zuko disappeared back into the room.

Shoving my hands into my pockets, I whistled low.

It seemed like the Prince had been introduced to Katara good and proper.

-oOo-

**In the original idea, it was supposed to be Zuko getting introduced to the Straggling Three (Haru, Teo and The Duke) and then Aang wanting to make proper introductions between everyone, but it didn't turn out that way. Instead, it took a bit of a turn and ended here. I regret nothing.**

**I don't normally do 1****st**** person POV, but it just seemed right with this one. 3****rd**** person didn't quite fill in where I wanted, and the thought of doing it in Sokka's POV was just too tempting to pass up. **

**Don't forget to leave reviews. There are 99 more of these to come and I would love to know what you guys think of them. **


	2. Hairpin

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters. I like to pretend I do, but I really don't.  
-oOo-**

She had not asked where their mother was for she knew that no answer would come. Azula knew better than to ask; knew better than to provoke her father with a question he would not answer.

Her brother continued to live in denial; not piecing together that morning and the night before, but for Azula it had all been clear. She had told her mother just what she had overheard, had watched as the horror sunk over the woman's face and she had rushed from the room without saying a word of goodnight to her daughter. The next morning, her mother had been gone and Azula quickly realized that she was not to return.

But unlike her brother, she was smart enough not to ask questions. She was smart enough to hide her tears until she was alone.

-oOo-

Azula slide her hand into the back of the draw, digging her thin fingers through folded clothes until she reached her target. The cold metal and plastic item was easy to find in the collection of soft silk, and securing it in her hand, the princess pulled it out into the open air. Her fingers remained wrapped tightly, enclosing the object as if it were a special treasure that she did not wish eyes to land on. Her ember eyes lifted towards the door of her room, a breath of relief came to find it still closed.

It was another few moments before she released her grip to allow her eyes to see the item she held. In her pale hand, sat a single hair clip; a deep shade of red that reminded her of spilled blood. The clip was only as long as her pinky but for the firebender, it sat like something precious.

The hairpin had been her mothers. The mother that had left them with nothing more than a kiss on the forehead and words of love whispered into her sleeping ears. Azula bit her bottom lip as the memory flooded into her mind. It had only been a week since Ursa's disappearance, and the last words she had heard from her mother still rang in her ears.

_You determine who you are_. Those were the words that Azula had heard through half-asleep ears a week before. She wanted so bad to pretend that those words had just been from some dream formation of her mother. She wanted to just shrug off the words her mother had whispered into her ears the same way she shrugged off everything else.

But holding the hairpin in her hands, Azula couldn't find the strength to shove aside the memory. Pretending took too much work, and she didn't have the control over herself that she needed in order to keep the act up behind closed doors.

Instead, she clicked open the clasp. The subtle noise was no more than a spider-crickets chirp, yet to her young ears the sound seemed to echo off the walls in a threatening tone. Outside she could hear no evidence of anyone being on the other side of the room. With a determined stare, Azula turned her attention instead to the large mirror that sat on top of the dresser.

Narrowed ember eyes stared back at her, daring her to continue with what she was doing. In her own reflection, Azula brought her free hand to her cheek, brushing her fingers over the light burn that rested there. Her father had increased her training in her mother's absence. Azula had learned quickly that fire was more unsteady and dangerous than even she was.

Letting the hand slide, she dropped her gaze onto the pin once more. In a single motion; fluid like everything the young child did, Azula slid the hairpin into its place, pulling back the loose strands of hair that framed the left side of her face.

Her mother's pin sat in her hair.

For a brief moment, Azula found herself on the verge of tears.

-oOo-

Her mother's things were gone.

It had taken her father a week, but any evidence of Ursa's existence had been erased from the palace.

Other than her name and memory, there was no proof that the mother of Zuko and Azula had ever lived.

Minus a hairpin that is.

-oOo-

Azula slammed the door shut to her room, pleading that the voices would remain on the other side.

"Please Azula," her mother's voice was behind her.

"No!" The fifteen year old spun around, her eyes wild like a beast as she scanned the empty room.

"You do not have to do this." There is was again. Azula growled as she spun again, still unable to find her mother's vision along with the voice. "Stop this before you hurt yourself anymore."

"It's not me I'm going to hurt," Azula cackled. Her mother's ghost began to form feet to the princess right. With a sick grin, Azula let her teeth bare as she pulled at the handle of the dresser draw. She yanked it with enough for to pry the single draw from the others. A flood of red fluttered from the air as the contents of the draw found a resting place along her floor. Her eyes scanned the mess in search of her target. Like a starving animal, she dove for the single hairpin the moment she saw it. Crawling herself against the bed frame, Azula tightened her grip on the pin, until she was sure the edges where cutting into her skin.

"Azula," her mother's voice was to her right. Lifting her eyes, the princess saw her mother crouch beside her, offering a kind and reassuring smile. "You are bleeding darling. Let me take care of that."

"No!" She screamed again and scooted away from the vision. "You just want this."

Azula held the hairpin between two fingers as she raised it for both her and the ghost to see. The red plastic had begun to chip away with age, and it seemed so much smaller than Azula remembered, but she knew that this was the hairpin.

"This is all there is of you," Azula's voice was broken; sounding with the same shattering tone as the mirror she had broken only an hour prior. "This is the only thing that belongs to you here. I get rid of this, I get rid of you. And you can stop bothering me. You can stop lying to me."

"I have never lied to you Azula," Ursa's voice was as soft as Azula remembered. For a second, the princess wanted nothing more than to throw down the hairpin and embrace her mother.

"Shut up!" Azula shoved the desire down as she remembered that this was not her mother. This was not the mother who smelled of vanilla, the woman who would make sure the covers were pulled tightly against her before kissing her goodnight. This was a lie of her.

"I'm getting rid of you." Azula's voice was filled with venom.

The flames burst from her fingers, engulfing the hairpin in a swallow.

It burned before her eyes.

The red plastic began to melt quickly, and as it trickled off the metal frame, it rolled over Azula's fingers. The princess felt heavy tears dig their way from her eyes as the hot liquid burned its way down her flesh and dripped from her elbow. Soon the metal itself glowed red with heat, and hissed against her contact.

The pain was intense, but she did not let the hairpin drop.

The vision of Ursa slowly began to fade before Azula's eyes. The woman evaporated into the air with the same slowness as the burning hairpin.

It was only when all traces off the woman's existence was gone that Azula gave in. Her fingers released the hairpin and it tumbled onto the ground beside her. Her wretched cries were a mix of physical and emotional pain as she drew her knees up towards her chest.

The hairpin was nothing more than a melted mess, the fire having twisted the metal and remaining plastic into a deformed state.

-oOo-

**Wow. **

**Mentally unstable Azula was not in the original plan for this chapter. It was just going to be from the part about her not asking, and ending with all of her mother's things being gone. But then I got this really creepy picture of Azula, her hair all self-cut and destroyed and this crazy look in her eyes as she holds the hairpin like Golem from ****Lord of the Rings****. So the last part was spawned, and I enjoyed Schizophrenic Azula too much to scrap it. I decided to go with it. **

**Because hey, this is the 100 theme challenge. It's all about winging it. **


	3. The Dream Catcher

**Disclaimer: So don't own anyone. **

The heat of Ember Island was something that Katara was still finding herself getting used to. The ragtag group had been moving throughout the Fire Nation for a few months now, but compared to the icy weather of the South Pole and the spring breeze of the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation's summer was a large change in the temperature. At first, the heat had left her a crabby panda-seal, but as time went on she had grown used to the sweat that always seemed to be on her forehead during the day. But even with her new tolerance, and slight love, of the heat, that didn't mean she still didn't wake from time to time over heated in her sleep. Tonight was one of those nights.

The waterbender walked through the halls of the Royal Families beach house, glass of ice water in hand. Her pajama's; consisting of a loose pair of pants and what she was fairly sure the Fire Nation called a tang-top, allowed comfort from the night heat. As she walked through the halls, Katara couldn't help but once more notice the bareness of the walls. The large open windows gave her enough light to move effortlessly through the halls, and it also illuminated the walls to show her the bareness of them. The fact that there was no family portraits, no sign of the family ever really once stayed at the home confused the female. It had been one of the first things she had noticed about the house whenever they had set themselves up there only a few nights ago.

Lost in her thoughts, Katara was startled by the sound of low groans. Dropping into a fighting stance, she placed her free hand over the glass, ready to call her drink to her aid. The noise stopped as soon as it started. Beginning to relax, she heard it one more. Listening closer, Katara could make out the sound better. It was low, and she recognized the rugged undertones that she had grown to know resided in Zuko's voice. His voice came from a few feet to her right, and glancing towards it, Katara was startled to find herself outside of his room.

Stepping closer, she placed her ear on the door, attempting to better make out what he was saying. His voice was raspy, his words spaced out between heavy pants. The sound of rustling bed sheets came between his words. Zuko's words became clearer at that moment, and when his muttered voice came through the door, pleading for someone to not touch him, Katara instantly realized what her new found friend was going through.

She had heard the firebender tossing and turning in his sleep several times since he had joined them. There had been plenty nights when she had been woken by his subconscious noises or kicked awake by a tired Toph. But she had chosen to ignore the obvious distress from a nightmare plagued prince on every occasion. Hearing him stir about now, she knew that this was her chance to make up for all those times she had been too petty to assist before.

With that in mind, Katara cracked the door open enough to stick her head into the room. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness; the floor to ceiling window that each of the bedrooms had lit the room enough for her to spot Zuko's restless form. His bed was on the other side of the room, and Katara was careful as she crossed the room and closed the space between them.

Zuko continued to roll around in his sleep. Katara took note of the sweat the sparkled against his forehead and bare chest; the prince having knocked the blanket onto the floor. Setting her water on the night stand, Katara sat on the edge of the bed beside him.

"No." Zuko's voice held a level of distress as he wiggled in his sleep. "Please don't. I didn't… I didn't… mean to… I tried…never wanted… to hurt you…"

Katara felt a pang of empathy and compassion sink into her heart as she watched him. Sitting on the bed, Katara wasn't sure what her next move should be. Something in the back of her mind told her that attempting to wake a distressed sleeping firebender, was not a safe idea. It was possibly dangerous to not only her, but also to him and anything flammable in a ten foot radius.

"Please… I'm sorry… I didn't want to…" But watching Zuko move about, pleading to someone that she could not see, she knew that leaving him was no longer an option.

A grin crossed over her lips as her eyes landed on the glass of water she had brought in with her. Lifting her hand, Katara pulled enough of the water from the container until her fingers where covered. Redirecting her hand, Katara pointed her index finger towards the firebender. She kept a safe distance as the water left her finger, and after hovering over to Zuko, began to drip onto his already sweat drenched face.

"Grr…" Zuko swatted above him, the look of distress on his face turning into one of annoyance. "Stop."

Katara continued with what she was doing, and it was only a minute or two later that Zuko could no longer fight both his nightmare and the dripping of water on his face that he awoke. He shot up straight, and it took all of Katara's self-control to not fall off at his sudden movement. He turned towards her, just as she was letting the remainder of the water fall from her fingers and back into the glass.

"Katara?" His voice was innocent and questioning. Katara couldn't help but smile at the childlike and sweet texture to his tones. It was in complete contrast to the hard and edgy way his voice had been whenever he had first stepped into her home and demanded Aang. Turning back to him, and instantly catching the bright gleam of his golden eyes, she was once more reminded on just how different he was from where he had been a year ago.

"What are you doing up? What are you doing in my bed?" Zuko's voice came again, this time bringing Katara out of her daydream.

"I was on my way to my room after getting a glass of water from the kitchen," Katara huffed. "You sounded like you were having a nightmare. I heard you through the door."

"Oh." Zuko broke the stare they were both giving. His eyes lowered away from her. "I'm fine. You don't have to worry. It's late, shouldn't you get some sleep? You trained pretty hard today with Aang, you have to be exhausted."

Katara picked up on the subtle way the prince completely changed the subject. Had she found herself in this position a week ago, Katara would have taken his word for it and left the prince to suffer and deal with his nightmares on his own. As it was, this was not something Katara could bring herself to do anymore.

"I'm not tired." Katara started. "The moon's out and almost full, I'm not sleeping tonight. Now back on the topic at hand."

"I really am fine Katara," Zuko restated; this time with a bit more force. Katara caught the way his nibbled at his lip after the words, and the way his eyes would not met hers. She had gotten to know the prince well enough since he joined to understand what these little habits meant.

"Fine isn't tossing around in the bed like that," Katara responded. "You know you can talk about it. We're all here if you ever need anything Zuko. I'm…" her voice trailed off for a moment. "I'm here now."

"It's really nothing," Zuko raised his eyes to stare at her. "You don't have to worry about it. Thank you though."

"Okay," Katara nodded. "But I'm here whenever you want to talk about it. I want to help in any way I can."

"I don't think there's really anything you can do," Zuko muttered. "They're nightmares. You can't just bend them away."

"Maybe I can." Katara lit up. "Wait right here, I'll be right back."

She slid off the bed, and quickly left his room. Katara practically ran to the room she was using, which thankfully for her, was only a few halls away. Throwing open her door, she made her way towards her bed. Lifting up her pillow, she found the item she needed. Gripping it tightly, she exited the room and dashed back to where she had left Zuko. The whole process had taken only ten minutes, and Katara was relieved that not only was Zuko still sitting awake in the bed, but he had also lit the lantern on the nightstand in order to brighten the room passed more than just the moonlight.

"I can't bend them away," Katara smiled as she sat back on the bed beside him, "but this can."

She held out the item she had retrieved. It was a simple dream catcher. The image of two swimming fish was painted carefully on the stretched brown hide, a string of blue beds dangled from both sides, and a single strand hung at the bottom. The frame was covered in a soft fur, just a tad darker than the hide in the center.

Katara placed the item in Zuko's lap. The firebender ran a hand over it, before looking at her in confusion. "What's this?"

"You don't know what a dream catcher is?" Katara wasn't sure if she should laugh or feel sorry for him.

"I've heard about them. They're Water Tribe right? I've never actually seen one though. Well once, I saw something similar while in Ba Sing Se. But it didn't look anything like this one. "

"The good ones are Water Tribe," Katara smiled at him. "They were actually first made in the South Pole, shortly after we broke away from the North. Sometime during the last hundred years they made their way into the Earth Kingdom, but those are not as good as a true Southern Water Tribe dream catcher. This one, I got from my dad, whenever we met up with him after Ba Sing Se."

A foreboding silence sank over the two as Katara casually spoke about the greatest tension between them. Both of their eyes seemed to try their hardest to not look at the other. With an inward sigh, Katara turned her gaze back onto Zuko and was startled with what she saw. Even with him looking away, she could see the hundreds of emotions running through his eyes. And she also picked up the slight tension that took into his shoulders.

Looking at him now, Katara just couldn't bring out any of that hatred and rage she had previously felt towards him. He wasn't the same person who had crashed into her tribes walls, and he wasn't the same person who had sided with his sister under Ba Sing Se. The person before her was a new Zuko. He was the side of Zuko that she didn't even know existed. The side that was determined and fierce, but also loyal, caring, and ready to risk his own life for the select few who got to call him family. He was also the side of Zuko that was plagued with nightmares that Katara could only begin to imagine what they were of. A part of her wondered if nightmares had always been a part of Zuko's life, no matter what side of him he was showing.

"Anyways, these things are great for getting rid of nightmares." Katara picked back up.

"And how does it do that?"

"Tai and La," Katara giggled. "You really are a deprived little fire monster, aren't you?"

Zuko narrowed his eyes at her, ready to tell her exactly what he thought about her comment, until he realized the humor and caring in her voice. His brow loosened, and he couldn't help but smirk at her. "Don't make fun of me. Just tell me how this thing works."

"Okay," Katara smiled kindly as she took the dream catcher in her hand. "They say that the pillow is the gateway of dreams. Whenever you lay down, all of your thoughts and energy soaks into the pillow, and dreams form from it and go to you. I don't know how accurate that really is, but that's what my mom used to tell me." Silence filled the room for a moment before Katara continued.

"So what you do," she raised the dream catcher for both of them to see, "is you place it under your pillow," she slid it into place, "and let it do its magic."

"Magic?" Zuko crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yes, magic." Katara rolled her eyes. "Just go with me here. So the dream catcher, under your pillow, is like a magnet for bad energy. And while all of the bad energy you put into the pillow finds itself running towards the dream catcher, it leaves only positive energy to come back to you and create good dreams."

"That makes no sense," Zuko nodded his head, the ghost of a smile playing over his lips.

"I'll just take my dream catcher back then," Katara smiled as she moved to grab the dream catcher. Zuko's hand was instantly around her wrist, holding it with enough pressure to prevent her from continuing.

"That's okay. I think I'll use it." Zuko shock his head as he let go of her wrist.

"That's what I thought," Katara nudged him in the side with her elbow.

"So," Zuko looked at her, "are you sure you don't need it? I don't want to take it and leave you at the mercy of your pillow."

"I'll be fine without it." Katara smiled. "Now get to sleep." She bent over and picked up his fallen blanket. Zuko was startled whenever the blanket flew and crashed into his face. Pushing it down, he sent back a scowl, the affect being ruined by the slightest upturning at the corner of his lips. "You have firebending with Aang in the morning."

Katara stood off the bed and picked up her glass of water before making her way towards the door. With her hand on the knob, Katara turned to glance one more time at the firebender. She wasn't startled when she found him looking back at her too. "And Zuko. If you ever want to talk, about _anything_, don't hesitate to tell one of us. Okay? You're part of this family now, and that means we're here for you. No matter what."

Zuko opened his mouth to respond, but closed it. Instead he gave her the slightest of nods and the largest of smiles.

**-oOo-**

**So I know that that's not how dream catchers actually work, but after watching that episode of "Mushi-shi" with the dreamer's pillow, I could not help but let my wander upon the whole pillow/dream thing so I did, and I changed up the dream catcher idea to fit my desires. The ideals of it are still the same, just the placement of the actual dream catcher is different. **

**Something tells me that in the Avatar world, the Water Tribes would be the ones to create the dream catcher idea. They do seem a lot more spiritual than the rest of the world. **_**That's just my views on it though**_**. So like any cool thing, the rest of the world steals the idea and coins it. As for the Fire Nation, I don't see them as being big 'magic dream power' people. **_**At least not the 100 Year War Fire Nation anyways.**_** I just can't see the Fire Nation at that time taking up dream catchers. Maybe some of the poorer citizens, and the colonials, but I can't imagine Ozai would have been a happy camper to find dream catchers all over his house. Hence why Zuko has no idea how it works or what it does. **


	4. Blind

**This one's pretty short. Not much for a developed plot, but it stands on its own pretty well.**

Poppy held her daughter in her arms, doing everything in her power to not look down at the child's face. For whenever she did, her gaze instantly went to the girl's sickly pale green eyes. She stifled a sob. Toph wiggled about, her eyes moving rapidly in what seemed to be an attempt to make out the world around her. As Poppy tried to regain control over herself, she noticed her two week year old doing something strange.

Despite the girl' inability to see, her eyes were trained on where the sun sat in the sky; as if she could sense its presents above them. With a small hand, the child reached up, beckoning the unseen warmth to come closer. When it didn't, Toph dropped her arms, and instead reached for the ground. The mother tightened her grip on her wiggling daughter, to keep her from falling onto the ground she so sought to obtain. Poppy let a sigh escape her lips.

Her daughter would never see the light of the sun, would never know the faces of her parents.

But as time went on, Poppy noticed Toph continuing to reach for the sun and digging her toes in the dirt. Whenever she inquired upon the actions, Toph would merely smile a large grin and giggle merrily. The child would turn her face up to the warmth of the sun and wiggle her feet from her shoes; only to bury her toes into the dirt, much to her mother's confusion and disapproval.


	5. Two Empty Seats

After mother left, it was just the three of them. The first dinner without her had been a mess, the servants having placed her plate there without thought. Azula remembered the scream the man had given whenever her father had shot a fist full of flames at his feet. The yell had muffled the stiff cry her brother was trying to suppress. The plate had remained, as none of them truly had had the strength to remove it.

The second night, the plate was not placed. Zuko had chosen that night to broach the subject of their mother's disappearance. Their father had grown angry quickly as he demanded, ordered and threatened his son to never ask him that question again. Zuko had bit back tears. Father had fumed into his plate. Azula had kept her face straight. Dinner was spent in silence, for that and every night after.

As diners came and went, the place where her mother had sat remained empty. It felt like a stab into Azula whenever she looked across the large table towards the seat, to only see the wall. Beside her, sat Zuko; the older child having grown silent and ridged under their father's harsh taunts and expectations. At the head, and to her other side, was her father, his cold stares driving her to excellence.

Across from her was a empty seat.

-oOo-

The night of Zuko's banishment, father had come to dinner with what seemed to be a satisfied grin. He had eaten, the sounds of his fork give the impression of a song behind each bite. Azula had been nearly silent that night, despite her father's strange desire to talk with her at that table. Her responses to his questions and comments came in monotone and simple retorts. Tearing into her roast duck had been where most of her focus had been spent.

Azula had kept her eyes lowered, as raising them would have forced her to face her loses. Directly in front of her, was mother's empty seat. The princess had begun to accept the fact that her mother would never return. The woman had been tired of them, had been tired of her. That was what father had told her, nights after. Father had told her, so therefor it must be true, for father never lied to her. He lied to Zuko all the time, but that was because her brother was weak. Azula was not weak, and father saw that. Mourning was weak, that father had made clear.

As easy as forgetting her mother had been, forgetting Zuko had proven to be a challenge. The young firebender was startled to find her confidence shaken by the second chair. The chair that was now empty because the person who used it had been dawned and dubbed weak by her father.

A gulp went through Azula's throat as she eyed her father. The man sat eating, a small smile on his lips.

Azula dropped her eyes to her plate, looking passed the remains of her torn apart roast duck. She barely requested her father muttering for her to eat up. Without allowing her inner thoughts to be shown, the princess picked her fork back up and began eating.

Father was not affected by the empty placemats. He continued the dinner, despite the fact that only half of the original residence still remained to eat. He eat as if the emptiness did not bother him.

Azula kept her eyes glued to the fine china under her fork and knife. The empty spaces bothered her. They reminded her of too much of the losses she had been dealt over the last few years.

The vacant chairs were an echo of the brother and mother that would never again sit with them as a family. They were the reminders that life was short, sporadic and none of her control. It was a reminder for Azula, that the weak had no place at the table.

Glancing back up at her father, Azula wondered which one of them would be the next to add to the already two empty seats.


	6. Sister

**Sister: The relationship between siblings is a tricky one indeed.  
Kind of a dull one. More of a look into Sokka's mind than anything.  
-oOo-**

Having a sister drove Sokka insane. She was so small, attention seeking and did no wrong in the eye of the village. He called it her powers of cuteness. Her powers got to everyone. Including him. The eight year old could only sigh and shack his head whenever the girl would bat her long eyelashes at him, and whine to be included in whatever he was doing. He usually relented; both due to his parents telling him not to bully the young child, and part because he did not wish to see the girl cry.

When they learned that Katara could waterbender, Sokka was faced with a whole new set of aggravations. She bent none stop. Morning, noon, afternoon; if the girl had a free moment, her gloves were off and she was splashing water. It came as a big deal to the tribe whenever Katara first bent; after throwing a tantrum about her doll being broken which busted half the water holders in the village. From there on, everyone looked at her with a new shine. Their parents treated both of them equally, but for Sokka, the envy towards his sister still remained every time someone complemented the girl on being able to bend a splash of water without freezing any vital parts. Hakoda had picked up on the forming rivalry not too soon after it formed, and had taken the care to teach his son how to handle his own special talents; a small boomerang for one.

But how far he could throw the boomerang, always seemed to take the back burner compared to what his sister had taught herself. He knew the adults didn't mean to let the amount of attention shift onto Katara, and he knew it wasn't her fault that it happened, but that didn't stop the envy to sink in.

When their mother died, Sokka didn't know what to do. The raid had killed many of the children, leaving the two of them without company their own age. Sokka took to following his dad, learning everything there was to do. Katara had taken up the mantle which had been their mother's. She grew up faster than she should have, and it saddened Sokka to see that little girl who craved attention, now taking care of all of them. She lost most of her childish innocents and joy in that first year, and Sokka would have to double take in order to remember that she was indeed his little sister.

Only a year later, their father left to fight in the war; leaving him and Katara to watch over a broken tribe.

He turned to the people; frowning on the missing faces. Katara's face was the one he landed on. She smiled up at him in encouragement; tears in her eyes and her hand on her necklace. He made it his mission at that point to take care of her; of all of them.

Because despite all faults, Katara was his sister, and he would do anything for her.


	7. Beads

Katara hiked her bag higher up her shoulders as she moved through the market of Ember Island. A few feet in front of her, and too busy marveling at a stand of swords, Sokka's attention had drifted from helping his sister do the shopping. She sighed, knowing full well that allowing her brother to assist had been a bad idea indeed. As she bought a bag of apples, and sent a slight frown at her brother, Katara wished for a second she had asked Zuko to come down to help her instead. It didn't strike the waterbender as strange, her desire to spend time with the firebender. Zuko had become her friend. He was family at this point, just like the others were.

As her eyes scanned over the crowd of red, she felt a familiar sense of being a fish out of water in the land of fire. All around moved happy Fire Nation people, content to live in their nice little world. The vacation island had indeed been a much loved break after their run through the country. The island didn't focus on the war, and other than that play they had visited the night before, the war and Avatar just didn't get brought up a lot. It was indeed a vacation site, free of the war, free of the burdens of life. It allowed her and the other's the chance to breath. It was definitely a relief to not have to look over her shoulder every second in fear that someone would recognize them.

She kept her eye on Sokka as she moved from the apple stand and down the market street. Katara enjoyed the open market place more than she wished to tell. Everything was lined up down the street, selling anything from apples and bread, to skirts and jewelry. With her check list finished, the waterbender decided that looking at that second half of items could not hurt. Her eyes spotted a peculiar table, which up until that point, there had been a large crowd of teenagers and younger children moving around it. But seeing it clear, Katara had ventured over.

That was how she found herself now, staring down at the strange stand. Laying on the right side of the table, there were what appeared to be clothe bracelets; the ends not connected. They looked to be simple scraps of clothe at first sight, and as Katara looked closer, she could not figure out quite what they were. The sizes ranged from ones as thin as ribbon, to larger more bulky ones which were skillfully woven with colors. To the side of the, was several baskets of unstrung beads that rested in little bowls.

Her fingers moved through a bucket, smiling at the way the spheres rolled off her hand like water. She knew what beads were, they were customary in the Water Tribe and ivory beads had been a hair decoration for her since she was three. But these beads were different. Unlike the beads she had made growing up; which were carved from bone and tended to be larger, bulkier, more cylinder shape, these were much smaller; ranging from roughly the size of her finger nail to that of a copper piece, rounder and carved from wood. They were a mix of painted colors and unpainted shades of brown wood. Upon closer inspection, Katara found her eyes narrowing at the thin characters that each bead in that basket contained.

"I see you found the charm makers." The voice, containing a childish hint over the mature sound, drew Katara's eyes upwards. She spotted the woman on the other side of the stand. Her black hair was cut short, stopping just below her shoulders, and framed her pale face, bringing out her dark ember eyes. A loose red top covered her torso, which extended into the knee length black skirt. She couldn't be more than twenty five. "They're a big sell here on Ember Island."

Katara shifted her gaze away to check on her brother, before turning back to the lady. "These are lovely."

"Have you ever made a friendship bracelet?"

"I'm sorry?" Katara looked at the woman for a moment. "A what?"

"A friendship bracelet?" The woman raised an eyebrow. "They're a Fire Nation custom among the younger kids. You must be a colonial."

"Yes." Katara nodded. "I'm from the colonies. Just visiting the mother land."

"If that is the case, than I cannot allow you to return without knowing how to properly create one of these." The woman smiled. She reached over to grab one of the bands of cloth, one that was a simple ribbon of grey. With her other hand, she reached into the basket closet to her and pulled out a red flat bead about the size of a copper piece. "Are you ready to learn?"

Katara could only nod. The woman smiled before continuing. She lopped an end of the cloth through the tip of the stone before tying the ends tightly together, and held it out for Katara to see. "A friendship bracelet is a popular thing with the youth these days. It's a bracelet that you give one friend from another."

"What makes it so special?" Katara asked touching the character carved beads once more. Her eyes remained locked on the object the woman held, finding the way the stone sat similar to the way the pendent sat on her mother's necklace. Her hand left the beads for a moment to unconsciously touch her neck where the red necklace now sat. "It just looks like any other bracelet."

"I am getting to that. Patience is not among the youth." The woman smiled, turning what seemed to be an insult into a light joke. "As I was saying, a friendship bracelet is a bracelet given from one friend to another. You place it around their wrist, and tie a knot that is difficult to untie afterwards. This makes the bracelet sturdy. As, it is often left on until it wears out. But the knot is what makes these bracelets so special. Because the knot is difficult to both tie and untie by the wearer alone, you need a friend to tie and untie. Hence the name, friendship bracelet."

"Oh." Katara murmured. "I got what the bracelets are, but what are the beads for? Are they just a decoration or are they part of the knot?"

"That is for you to decide." The woman spoke. "The bracelet is a symbol of a bond between friends. The beads are both an extra support for the knot, as well as indeed just a decoration to make each bracelet different."

"How much are these?" Katara reached for the sake of money in her bag. The small purse still held a nice deal off money; courtesy of Toph's scamming runs and Zuko having nicked some money from the palace vault before joining them.

"A copper piece for every two bracelets." The woman answered. "And six beads for another copper piece."

"I'm going to need six bracelets." Katara smiled as she pulled out the amount and handed it to the woman. "And twelve beads. I can pick any twelve, right?"

"Whichever ones you wish." The woman smiled as she slid the money into her pocket. Katara nodded in response as she selected what she wanted. Sliding the bracelets, and beads into a side poach of her bag, she thanked the woman and left to find her brother. Finding Sokka was easy, and in a matter of ten minutes, the siblings were heading back to the house.

-oOo-

**So that is the end of that one. It was a lot longer, but in the end I really did not like the second half. So I stopped it at Katara getting the bracelets and heading home. It fit the theme for this chapter, so I was happy. **


	8. Festival

Ember Island was full of festivals, something the GAang realized in the first few days of their stay. It seemed as if once a week there was a festival, a marriage or some party that grew much larger than what the teen host had planned. It was paradise to Sokka, Suki and Toph, who took advantage of the constant festive and escaped from the beach home they hide in, in order to visit and mingle at any free moment they found. It was frustrating for Aang, who most of the time was forced to stay cooped up and training by two of his more strict teachers. For Zuko, it was looking at his childhood, but not daring to venture towards it, and for Katara it was a reminder that they all really were kids, who on any other day should have visited the festivals.

But despite the large number of celebrations going on nearly twenty-four hours a day, it was difficult in getting all six of them together and out of the royal family's beach house at the same time to visit such festivals. The last group trip they had taken since coming to Ember Island had ended up being a disaster; and had created a pact between the friends, that their first job after the war was setting ablaze the Ember Island Players theater.

With the comet hanging overhead and days away, training and planning took up the majority of their time. And it took its toll on all of them. Tempers ran high, and patience ran low. It was only whenever Katara put her foot down on the nonstop preparations that the group of teens realized that they needed some time; free from the war, to be the children they still were.

That was how Zuko found himself here, standing at the game stalls with Toph. The prince had not had the heart to explain to the child her disadvantage when it came to a game involving throwing small balls at the pyramid of empty milk bottles feet away. The earthbender had been clear in her desire to conquer the game that was not built with her in mind. So forking up the copper piece, and wondering why the group left _him_ with the rambunctious con child, Zuko watched with a small smirk as the man placed the balls before Toph. She ran her hand over the balls, pressing them tightly in her hands and seeming to make note of their soft, squishy form. Zuko could make out the subtle smirk on her focused face.

Shaking his head, he silently watched as she pulled back her arm and threw the first ball. It shot passed the bottles, being nowhere close to hitting them and slammed against the back wall in a heavy thud of failure. His eyes traveled back to the girl, who showed no signs of being bothered by the failed attempt. Instead, she moved her hand back over the booth's counter, as if searching for the next ball to throw. The smirk on her lips was still present as she grasped the second ball and threw it.

This one hit the booth attendant's head. The man glared down at Toph, who seemed unaffected by his anger. Instead, she shrugged and reached for the third and final ball. Zuko watched carefully as she lined up her throw for this one. Unlike the others, which had been pretty well blind throws, this last one was being given the same amount of attention that she would put into her earthbending. He watched as her right arm came back behind her head, her fingers flexing in the soft ball. Her left hand was placed firmly on the counter top.

Toph let the smirk on her lips take over her entire face as she let the ball leave her hand. It flew through the air, heading straight for where the milk jugs sat. Anticipation sank over him as he realized that her throw had been directly in line with the bottles. His eyes followed the path of the ball as it soured through the air and towards the bottles. Just when he thought it was to hit, the ball suddenly lost all speed and power. It dropped out of the air, bumping against the bottom bottle before rolling off the small wooden table. The pyramid of bottles wobbled slightly, but remained upright.

Zuko let a sigh escape his lips as he turned back to the earthbender. He noticed her left hand still resting on the counter. Her wrist was twisted ever so slightly; a movement he recognized from when she had shown him her tricks of gambling. "Are you ready to go Toph?"

"Not until I get my prize." Toph turned her face up to him, smiling with an innocent beam that lit her large pale eyes. Her voice was childish and naive; something Zuko had come to realize was not what the girl was. Her gaze shifted back towards the table where the bottle had sat. Following her lead, he saw, without surprise, the three bottles tipped over.

"That was some skill little lady," the man running the stall said. He rubbed the back of his neck, and stared in surprise at the beaten game. He glanced back at the blind child before shaking his head. "But a win is a prize. Pick anything from the top shelf."

"Pick me something fluffy, Sparky." Toph nudged Zuko in the ribs with her elbow. "The fluffier the better. I want to rub it in SugarQueen's face when she sees it."

Zuko sighed, but followed her command. "She'll take the stuffed lionturtle."

The man nodded, and got down the stuffed animal. He handed it to Toph, who ran her hand through the large ruffle of mane that surrounding the creatures head. The toy was only the size of her hands cupped together, but it seemed to please the child. With the prize in hand, Zuko lead her away from the game stalls before she found another that she wanted to try.

Zuko made sure to keep a firm grip on Toph's hand as they pushed through the large crowd that had come out to visit the festival. He knew that she did not need the extra guidance, but it was more of reassurances to him as he led her towards the food stalls. Toph didn't seem to mind him keeping her close to him. "Can you feel the others anywhere around here?"

"SugarQueen and Twinkletoes are over by the petting zoo," Toph shrugged. She felt Zuko slow his steps when she began to fall behind. Frustrated, she picked up her speed to keep up with his long strides. Her grip on the stuffed lionturtle increased.

"What about Sokka and Suki?"

"Snoozles and his Fan-girl are content where they are." Toph answered quickly, a shudder running through her spine. "They're cuddling over by where the music is coming from."

"Of course." Zuko chuckled under his breath. "Something tells me they'll head back on their own when they're ready."

"I say we get food." Toph used the leverage of Zuko's hold on her hand to add a small jump to her step to close the distance between them. Her gaze roamed over the collection of food stands that made up the street they were on. All around, cheery children raced passed, showing no concern for the pair. "I'm in the mood for something sweet and sugary. Do you firecrackers have anything other than spicy?"

"I think we can find something for you," Zuko chuckled. "How does coconut rice sound?"

"Sounds like not enough sugar." Toph shook her head. "I want something that will make my teeth root. Something SugarQueen will yell at _you_ for letting me eat."

"I see." Zuko couldn't help but smile at the young girl. His eyes trailed over the long row of food stalls, looking at all the offered snacks and such in search for something to appease the earthbenders taste buds. He lead them passed the stalls offering snacks of different variances of spices. That was when his eyes landed on the large stale that sat just off from the others.

He smiled as they walked towards it. The contents of the stall came into view. Under the large sign with the words 'custard tarts' was what appeared to be more of a show than a food stand. He watched as the pair working the stall blew wisps of flames over the freshly baked tarts, giving them a golden brown top. The on looking crowd cheered. Smirking, Zuko looked down at Toph, who was staring at the stall. A frown was set on her face as she attempted to figure out what was going on.

"How do custard tarts sound?" Zuko asked.

"Sounds good." Toph shrugged. Nodding, Zuko lead her over to stall. The crowd around began to pan out, tarts in hand. Zuko let go of Toph's hand to dig through his pocket for the money he had on him.

"We'll take two tarts." Zuko handed the man the money before picking up two of the treats and a pair of plastic spoons which he slid into his pocket. He passed one of the treats to Toph, who took it in one hand, while grabbing back for his hand with the other. Zuko smirked as she wrapped her thin fingers around his hand. Finding all of the benches and tables occupied, he led her over towards the small section of grass which had been reserved and sectioned off for the festival. Zuko stopped before the large oak tree, and motioned for the girl to sit. He sat with his back up against the oak as Toph dropped down beside with as little grace as the earthbender had.

He pulled out the spoons from his pocket and handed one to Toph. The girl muttered her thanks before stabbing the utensil through the caramelized golden crust. The sweet scent of honey and sugar swam through the air as Toph brought the spoon full of custard to her lips.

Zuko smiled as he broke his own crust and took a bit of the custard tart. Cinnamon, honey and sugar all melted together on his tongue creating a rich sweetness that reminded him so much of those few perfect moments of childhood. "Sweet enough for you?"

"Yes." Toph nodded. She shoveled a second spoonful of the snack into her mouth with much enthusiasm. "You Fire Nation have at least one good thing going for you. You know how to reach a girl's sweet tooth."

"Glad we can please." Zuko smiled as he took another bite. "So how do you like the festival? Is it as great as the Earth Kingdom's are?"

"I wouldn't really now." Toph sighed sadly as she placed her half eaten tart on her lap. "I've never actually been to a festival before."

"Never?" Zuko stared at the girl with a strange look. "You've never been to a festival? A carnival? Anything?"

"Nope." Toph answered. "My parents always said that these things weren't a place for fragile blind girls. That the outside world was _dangerous_."

"Fragile…" Zuko blinked several times as he tried to place her words together. "Toph, nothing about you is fragile. You are the most stubborn, violent kid I have ever met." He stopped for a moment, pondering his words as a second stubborn girl came to mind. "And that's including Katara."

"I feel like that is the nicest thing anyone has ever said. I'm glad I can out stubborn SugarQueen." Toph chuckled, but it died on her lips. She let a sigh escape as she turned her head in the other direction, a sad frown over her mouth. "But that's not how my parents saw me. They never got to see anything other than their fragile little flower. They never knew what I could do."

Zuko placed a hand on her shoulder, drawing her gaze up to him. "Then your parents missed out on getting to see how amazing you really are."

Toph smiled. "You think I'm amazing?"

Zuko chuckled as he sat his spoon back into his custard tart. "You are definitely something."

"You're not too bad yourself Sparky." Toph elbowed him teasingly as she took another bite of her treat. "I've got to admit, it's nice having you around. You make for a great brother."

"I do?" Zuko seemed surprised by the turn of the conversation. He looked down at the earthbender, who was digging her spoon into her custard tart once more. There seemed no evidence of what she had said written on her face. Zuko began to wonder if he had heard her correctly.

"You do." Toph confirmed. "And if Azula doesn't want you anymore, then I'm taking you for myself."

Zuko smiled and draped an arm around the girl. He pulled her close, giving her a one armed hug. Toph moaned in disgust at the public show of affection, but still melted into the embrace.

"There you guys are!" Katara's voice came from ahead. The two looked up to see her walking towards her; Aang bouncing behind her, pulling his hat farther down on his head to cover his arrow as he moved. Katara smiled at them, and her grin grew as she noticed the way Toph was nuzzled up against Zuko, half eaten custard tart on her lap and spoon at her lips. "We were worried you two would have gotten in trouble by now."

"Nah," Toph waved off the comment, "Sparky was firm in the no trouble causing rule."

"So did you guys have fun?" Aang beamed as he dropped down across from them. Zuko took note of the way the boy's clothes were ruffled and spotted with several strands of fur that stood out against the black fabric. "The petting zoo was awesome. You should have come."

"If I wanted to pet something smelly I would pet Appa," Toph declared. After a moment, and the last bite of her custard, she spoke again. "Or Snoozles. He's definitely smelly enough."

"So did you two have fun?" Katara asked as she sat down beside Zuko. "You didn't run into any problems."

"We were well behaved, SugarQueen." Toph rolled her eyes, but the endearing tone that sat under her words was present. She withdrew the stuffed lionturtle and held it in front of her, in a presenting manner. "We played a few games, I dominated at life. Normal things."

"We'll I'm glad you two had fun." The smile on Katara's face seemed to grow brighter with each moment. The break from being Team Avatar and fighting to save the world had clearly been a good idea.

"Where did you win that? I want to play and get one." Aang asked, looking on the toy with childish wide eyes. In that moment, Zuko was reminded of how young the Avatar really was. He was reminded of how young they all were.

"Some game where you throw balls at bottles." Toph shrugged as she dropped the stuffed animal back beside her. A smirk played over her lips. "It's pretty easy. A blind girl could do it."

Zuko decided to not bring up the fact that she had cheated to win the game.

**-oOo-**

**Another chapter. Went over the estimated word limit that I set at the beginning of this. Been trying to keep each chapter roughly 1000-1500 words. This one has gone over. But it's okay, because it was all worth it.**

**So I love sibling Toko. It's something I wish had been more predominate in the show. They just make the cutest brother/sister pair and she fits into Zuko and Iroh's little family so well.**

**But I wanted to do one where I got to play with the child-ness of Toph. She's still a kid, and I wanted to bring that out in this. I also wanted to show how much Zuko has become a part of the Team Avatar family, and how much he cares about all of them. Most of his own family has kicked him out, but he's got an even better group who are willing to take him in. Those points were what helped create this chapter.**

**So no Sokka or Suki; they were busy… practicing for future procreation. **

**The debacle of plastic has been revived. I don't know if the Avatar world actually has plastic or not. I want to think they do, mainly for simplicities sake, but I don't know. There's no real way to find the answer to that question. So I have come to decide that they have plastic; not advanced plastic, but plastic none the less.**

**Another chapter done. If you like this, feel free to check out my other work "A Life Returned". And watch for my newest project "Catching Lightning and Overturning Lotus's". But that's about all. Hope you all enjoyed, this was really fun to write.**


	9. Fish

Sokka let a sigh escape his lips as the two teens sat along the bank. He cast a quick glance over at Zuko beside him; the prince muttering something under his breath about the likelihood of catching anything. The Water Tribe warrior had thought it appropriate to take Zuko with him whenever he had planned the morning fishing trip. The prince had been even more aloof since arriving back at the Air Temple after the prison run, and Sokka was beginning to wonder if the bonding had fallen away. He had briefly considered informing his dad of the trip, but he figured that the man would make salvaging the bonding a bit awkward. Plus, Sokka wanted answers, and he knew he'd only get them if he and the prince were alone.

Readjusting the pole in his hand, Sokka glanced down at the water in anger. The waters drifted slowly in the quiet current, and just below the surface he could spot the fish swimming around them, almost deliberately avoiding their hooks. Growing under his breath, Sokka shoved away the impatience before addressing the prince. "So how do you like running with Team Avatar."

Zuko's only response was to shrug his shoulder in a casual manner, and fiddle with his own fishing pole. "It's okay. A lot better than I thought it would have been."

"What did you think would happen?" Sokka couldn't help but smirk. "We'd kill you or something?"

"Actually yes," Zuko only shrugged again. "That thought did cross my mind. Among other things."

Sokka snickered at the response. "And you came anyway? Are you a glutton for punishment or what?"

"I didn't have much of a choice," Zuko answered as he moved the fishing pole a bit about in the water. The fish below continued to avoid the trap. "There really was no going back at that point. I figured if you all killed me, at least I made an attempt at doing the right thing. That's better than what I've done for the past few years. Plus, going back probably would have meant a slow painful death. I decided to take my chances with you people. At least you all would have put me out of my misery quickly."

"That was a good choice." Sokka nodded. "So now that you are with us, and you know we won't kill you, how do you like it?"

"What's with all the questions?" Zuko's remaining eyebrow rose, disappearing into the messy fringe of hair that hung over his forehead. His thin, ember eyes were plagued with concern.

"You're like part of the team, well you are part of the team, and we've never had a moment to talk just the two of us." Sokka answered with a roll of his eyes. "Plus, you did help me break my dad and Suki out of prison. We're like friends now and I'd like to get to know my friends. Just answer my questions."

Zuko snickered, a small smile pulling at the corner of his lips. "Okay. No need to be defensive."

"Just answer the question. What are your thoughts now that you're part of Team Avatar? Are we as awesome as you always figured we were?" Sokka leaned his weight over to nudge the prince in the side.

Zuko cast a smirk towards him. "You're not bad. In all truth, I really do enjoy being here."

"You do?" Sokka looked surprised at the open answer he was given. He had come to accept that the older boy wasn't one to right out open up and tell what was on his mind; other than when he was angry, then the entire temple knew just what he was thinking. But for him to answer so quickly and honestly, it through the warrior off a bit.

"Look." Zuko sighed. His eyes roamed over the river bank as if searching to see that they were indeed alone. He landed his eyes on Sokka, the narrowing of them bringing some urgency to the conversation. "I'm going to tell you something, and if you tell anyone, I will kill you in your sleep."

"My sleep?" Sokka raised an eyebrow, trying to keep down the snicker building in his throat at the clearly hallow threat.

"Yes," Zuko seemed to pick up on the forming laughter, "your sleep. Now promise."

"I promise. Cross my heart, and hope to live." Sokka smirked.

"Hope to live?" Zuko raised an eyebrow. "I thought it was hope to die."

"I'd rather live." Sokka answered with a shrug. "Now tell me this deep dark secret."

Hesitation flashed over Zuko's face and he sat back. His head turned to the side, giving Sokka a clear profile shot of the deep scar that distorted the features of his face. The prince's eyes seemed to shimmer and dull rapidly. He opened his mouth before closing it, repeating the act a set of time as if he were a fish out of water. "Growing up, I wasn't really the most popular guy around."

"Really?" Sokka smiled. "Prince of the Fire Nation, I figured people were lining up to be your friend."

"Let's just say I was disgracing everyone from a young age." There sat a hollowness in Zuko's voice that he didn't dwell on. "Before joining you guys, I really didn't have that many friends. Hell, other than Azula and them, I didn't really talk to anyone. You guys are the first, in a long time, to give me a chance and you don't know how much I appreciate that."

"It was nothing." Sokka punched him in the shoulder, the action holding no real strength. "We're just glad you want to help."

A silence sank over them as both boys fiddled with the poles in their hands. The fish below continued to swim around, avoiding capture. Sokka lifted his eyes back onto Zuko, noting the way the other boy's shoulders didn't sag as much as they did whenever he had first showed up. "In all truths," Sokka paused for a second, waiting for Zuko to acknowledge his voice. The prince turned his head to face him. "I didn't have that many friends before either. There weren't many kids that survived all of the raids, and after the last one that took our mother, Katara and I were all that was left as far as kids were concerned. And even when babies started being born, there really was no one my age to hang out with. Aang was the first person I met that was anywhere near my age. But even he's still a kid.

"What I'm trying to say is," Sokka paused for a moment as he attempted to set his words into place. "You're the first guy I've gotten to know, whose my age. I know we haven't really known each other for a long time, well we have, but not all of it were good times, anyways, I know what you mean. About the friends thing. What I'm trying to say is, that I'm glad I got to know you. You're a lot different than what we all imagined."

"Thanks." Zuko nodded. Before he could speak again, there came a tug at the end of his pole. Glancing down, both boys spotted the large fish attempting to pry the pole into the water with him. Hunger sank over them as they noted that the thing was half the size of Toph, and put up just as much of a fight. Zuko pulled hard on his pole, trying desperately to bring the fish from the water.

Sokka picked up his struggle, and after dropping his own pole, he moved over to assist the boy. "You can't even beat a fish."

"It's a strong fish." Zuko countered, moving his hands to allow Sokka to grab hold of the pole as well. As the other boy gripped the pole as well, the fish seemed to sense a second set of hands, and pulled even harder, dragging the two closer to the river's edge. The pair put all of their strength into prying the fish from the river, but it wasn't budging. Anger and frustration sank over them as the fish continued to pull them farther to the water's edge, his large tail flapping about under the surface of the water, creating a large amount of backlash of water.

"Keep ahold of the pole." Sokka commanded. He took his hands off, and reached for the thin blade held tightly in the loop of his belt.

"What are you doing?" Zuko asked, eyeing the blade the other boy held.

Sokka's eyes trailed from the prince to the fish fighting in the water. Zuko nodded in understanding as the Water Tribe Warrior inched his way into the water. The fish showed no signs of noticing the teen in the water due to its focus for pulling the other boy in as well. Sokka was only a foot away from the fish when he lunged, his knife leveled and angled directly towards the center of the fishes forehead.

The animal seemed to sense the danger, and moved quicker than Sokka could. It jerked itself to the side, the blade just missing hitting its gilled head. The sudden movement caught Zuko off guard. The combination of the fish's sudden change in direction and Sokka's weight catching the fishing line was enough to topple Zuko over into the water. He went under for a few seconds. By time he resurfaced, the pole was no longer in his hand. He stood, finding the water reaching just above his hips. Glancing around, the prince caught the pole drifting away quickly. He reached for it, but found it drifting away to quickly in the current.

"Damn it!" Sokka's voice drew the prince around to spot his friend. The Water Tribe boy was spouting out water from his lips, his eyes narrowed at the fish swimming feet away from them, the fishing hock no longer in his mouth. He turned his attention toward Zuko who was glowing at the fish as well. "Where's your pool?"

"Umm…" Zuko turned his head in the direction of where his pole had drifted to, surprised to see it even farther away and nowhere within his reach.

"That's fine." Sokka sighed. "We still have mine." He pointed towards the bank they had previously been standing on. His face dropped when he saw his fishing pole no longer where he put it. Turning back to the prince, he caught the movement of the fish moving at the other side of the bank.

"So much for fish tonight." Zuko said.

Sokka sighed and motioned for him to follow him out of the river. "That's fine. Fish isn't real meat anyway."


	10. To Learn From The Student

_010. To learn from the Student: The Avatar's teachers may have the job of training their young pupil, but they quickly learned that their student had a lot to teach them as well. _

-oOo-

Aang was one to have fun. His mentality on the world was simple; the dishes would wait for the rainbow but the rainbow would not wait for the dishes. His views did not extend upon all of the world. Joining up with Katara and Sokka had been a real culture clash for him. Sokka picked up on the 'chill' mentally pretty easy, but his sister was a different story. Getting Katara to drop her work and have fun, was only an occurrence every once in a while.

"Come on Katara." Aang whined, trying to get the waterbender's attention. He moved about behind her in a desperate attempt to pull the girl's focus off of the shirt she was washing in the river. "Just put down the shirt and play with me."

A small growl escaped through Katara's lips. She slammed the shirt and soap down before her, creating a splash of water that just missed dowsing her. She turned her attention to Aang standing over her; a dullness rested in her blue eyes. "I am busy Aang. Can you not see me trying to clean this shirt? I only have so many shirts and I can't afford for one of them to be stained and ruined."

"It's not even that big of a stain." Aang sighed. His eyes fell onto the light brown/red stain on the front of the blue tunic. "What is that anyway?"

Katara's eyes widened at the question. "I think its Zuko's blood. But I'm not sure."

"Zuko's blood?" Aang backed away from her slightly.

"I'm not sure." Katara answered, scrubbing away at the shirt once more. "I hit him pretty hard in the head last time we came across him. He was bleeding pretty badly by the time we got away. We both were bleeding pretty badly. It's either his or my blood. But it's definitely blood. I figured that out when I pulled most of it out of the fabric earlier."

"That's…" Aang rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "interesting. So what do you say, want to go exploring?"

"I can't right now Aang." Katara answered simply. "I need to finish cleaning this shirt and then there's dinner to make, a fire to start and we haven't practiced waterbending today. You need to be prepared for whenever we get to the North Pole."

"Can't you just enjoy the day?" Aang sighed dramatically. "The stains pretty well gone, and Sokka can take care of the fire. Where is Sokka anyway?"

"I think he's attempting to bath Momo." Katara answered as she pulled the shirt from the water. Holding it out in front of her, she used her other hand to pull the water from the fabric. The element followed her command and dropped quickly back where it belonged, leaving her shirt as dry as it had been prior to the washing. Her eyes scanned over where the blood stain had been, and smiled to see it gone from the fabric. "There, shirt is cleaning."

"And there's that waterbending practice you were talking about." Aang smiled, earning a subtle glare from the girl. He didn't pick up on her expression. "Now can we go play?"

"Aang…" Katara shock her head, irritated by the boy's persistence, "I have a list of things to do."

"Come on Kat!" Aang whined, earning a giggle to form in the base of Katara's throat. "We're only going to be here for so long and you can't spend the whole time working! You need a break. Learn to go with things. Be a kid!"

"I just don't have the time, Aang." Katara exclaimed. "I have a lot to do."

"It's still light, we don't need a fire," Aang argued, "and dinner time isn't for another few hours."

"If I put it off I'll be rushing to get it done." Katara answered.

"I got it." Aang sighed, finally giving in. He dug his hand into his pants pockets and turned on his heels with the grace only an airbender could have. "I'm sorry to bother you."

"Wait." Katara called over her shoulder. Twisting in her seat, she looked over to the child. A smile sat on her face as she watched Aang's face light up. "I guess I could wait a bit before starting on dinner."

"Really?" Aang's smile threatened to take over the entirety of his face. He raced forward and snatched her hand in his. Pulling her to her feet, the airbender lead her away from the river bank. "I promise you you'll have fun!"

Katara glanced back to the river bank to see the shirt she had been washing resting in the dirt. A frown set onto her face for a moment before turning her attention to the airbender before her. The child continued talking, much too quick for Katara to fully understand his words. She smiled down at the kid, realizing that the dishes could wait until the rainbow passed.

-oOo-

Toph didn't believe in asking for help. Yes, there were things she could not do on her own. She had her own mental list of things never to attempt, swimming and painting at the top of that list. But that did not mean that she went out of her way to bring them up. Of course, there always were those situations that she found she just could not handle on her own.

"Where are you going Toph?" Aang caught a glance of his earthbending teacher; crawling through the halls of the Western Air Temple.

Toph lifted her head, sensing the airbender right in front of her. "Oh, hi Aang. I got bored sitting in the court yard. I'm looking for something to do."

"Why are down there?" Aang asked, kneeling down to look her in the face. "I thought Zuko was your personal carrier until your feet were healed."

"Sparky's busy with Snoozles." Toph answered. She pulled herself into a seated position. "I let him off for the day so he could play with his boyfriend. They're hitting each other with swords and what not."

"Do you need help getting around?" Aang asked.

Toph waved him off. "Nah. I can find my way around." She dropped herself back onto her hands and knees and made a move to pass him. She hadn't even made it to the other side of the airbender, before her head slammed into the stone wall before her. A curse slid through her clinched teeth as she felt around. "I used to be able to do this with my hands."

"Let me help." Aang moved beside her. He slid his arm through one of hers, helping her to her knees.

Toph narrowed her foggy eyes at the boy. "I'm fine."

"Let me carry you." Aang persistence, moving under her and trying to position her on his back.

Toph seemed to realize what he was doing and fought to pull herself away. The airbender kept a hold of her. "I don't need your help Twinkletoes! You can't even carry me anyways so don't try."

Aang smiled as he rose. Toph tightened her grip around the Avatar's neck, startled about being lifted. A snicker came from Aang's lips. "I can totally carry you. Besides, it doesn't hurt to ask for help."

"I don't need help." Toph muttered, her chin resting on Aang's shoulder.

"Then don't think of it as help." Aang said as he readjusted her legs around his waist. "Think of it as earthbending training."

"Training?" Toph asked.

"Ya. You keep telling me I don't have the back of an earthbender."

"That I did." Toph replied. "Alright pupil, take me to find food."

"Alright Sifu!" Aang smiled as he carried his earthbending teacher towards the kitchen.

-oOo-

Zuko didn't know what to expect by the scene before him. The snow fell around in soft sheets, coating the already snow covered ground even thicker. The thick blue parka, courtesy of Gran-Gran, he wore held a light coat of the white snow.

He had been surprised by the invite to the South Pole, fearing that his last trip into the tribe may have left a bad impression with the locals. But as it was, stepping into the city; it could classify it as a city now with its growing size, had proven to be nothing like he'd expected. Sokka and Katara had jumped him the moment he stepped off the small boat, throwing their arms around him and exclaiming how much they had missed him. Behind them, Aang had come up, clearly visiting as well, along with Hakoda and the rest of the tribe members. It had been only a year and a half since his first visit, and his fears had been pushed down within the first few moments.

But now, he had a new set of fears to take the place. Standing before him Aang was dangling out a fish for him to take. The Fire Lord took the fish, confusion on his face. He had regretted leaving with the airbender the moment they had stepped out of the city gates and ventured into the tundra of snow outside. He had been reassured that he was safe in the airbenders care, but Zuko had still yet decided what 'safe' and 'Aang' had to do with one another.

"You need the fish to pick a penguin." Aang's voice brought Zuko back to the present. His eyes roamed over to the flock of penguins that looked upon them in curiosity and slight fear. "And then you ride it."

"Ride it?" Zuko asked in confusion.

"Yep." Aang's voice was childish and offered no room for argument. "Down the mountain side."

"Zuko glanced over the large slope to their left, piecing what the airbender had in mind together. "I don't know how safe this is."

"Come on Zuko." Aang pleaded. "Its totally safe. I've done it a few times with Katara and Sokka already."

"Well why don't you do it again," Zuko said, "with them. I have… important Fire Lording to do."

"Like what?" Aang rested his hands on his hips, and tossed the Fire Lord a pout.

"Like talk to Hakoda." Zuko answered quickly. "About trade and stuff. And Pakku about that exchange student thing. And I have to thank Gran-Gran for the parka. I don't think it got the chance."

"Stop stalling." Aang urged. "You can do all that later. Right now, you are going to ride a penguin. Come on Zuko, when was the last time you just let yourself have a moment for yourself."

"A month ago." Zuko answered, pointing a finger at his young friend. "I too k a couple hours out and took a nap."

Aang's mouth hung open as he requested what his friend said. "Get on the penguin Zuko."

Zuko seemed about to argue, but grew to accept defeat. He knew how stubborn the airbender could be; his standings battling even Toph and himself, just as he knew that the airbender in question was his guide back to the Southern Water Tribe. Glancing down at the fish in his hands, Zuko let a heavy sigh escape his lips. "Fine. Tell me what I have to do."

"Just offer them the fish." Aang replied, his voice fast with excitement. "Snag one and then slid off the cliff."

"That's all there is." Zuko muttered. A gulp attacked his throat before he stepped forward. The penguins noticed him, or more the fish in his hands, almost in an instant. They were on him, swarming the ruler in desire to the treat he held. Lowing it down for one of them to catch, Zuko grabbed the penguin of his choice. The creature show no signs of caring it being lead towards the slope, as the others waddled away back to where they had been.

Penguin under him, and praying to the spirits above to protect him, Zuko took a glance at the waiting airbender beside him. Aang already had his penguin, and his smile only continued to grow over his youthful face. "You ready."

Zuko looked over the edge they were preparing to go over. "As I'll ever be. I do have one question though. How-"

"WoHo!" The scream of delight broke Zuko's sentence and grew in volume as Aang proceeded down the hill in break neck speeds.

"-do I stop." Zuko sighed, unsure once more rather he should risk his life in the matter. Watching his friend sledding down the slope; free from all responsibilities and concerns, Zuko pulled his legs onto the penguin and shoved off.

The rush of air in his face was an instant joy, reminding him of the time he had sent traveling with Aang and the others aboard Appa. The excitement and bliss only grew with each passing second as the Fire Lord was once more brought back to the youthfulness of childhood. He spotted Aang resting down at the base of the hill; his penguin roaming around beside him. The clearing grew closer as the slope leveled.

The excitement turned to quick fear as he and his penguin rushed passed Aang. Glancing ahead, Zuko saw the large oak before he hit.

The Fire Lord spent the next six months with a bright red cast on his arm, and no regrets of the day.


	11. Memory

The evening sky greeted Sokka as he stepped out onto the small back porch of the new house. Before him, the Kyoshi beach opened up, greeting the newly wed man to a fresh ocean breeze. Lifting his eyes, he smiled at the full moon that rested in the sky. The moon shinned extra bright that night, and seemed even closer than it normally was. Sokka let a sigh escape his lips as he leaned on the porch's fence. "I really wish you could have been here. You'd love Suki, the two of you would have gotten along great. It probably would have been bad for my health, but you two would have hit it off."

The Southern smiled back up at the moon, smirking at the thought of his first love and his wife getting to know one another. The moon seemed to twinkle once, as if making it noted that she was listening. Behind him, he could hear the sounds of Suki moving about on the bed and he smiled.

"I love her." Sokka muttered, more to himself then to the moon as he glanced back up at it. "I never thought I'd love anyone as much as I love her, Yue. She's everything I ever could have asked for. And don't tell anyone, but she's already a month in. I'm gunna be a dad. Wow. Newly married and a dad in eight to nine months. Nobody else knows yet. We're gunna tell them next month. Kat's going to be so thrilled. I know how bad she wants a kid of her own. And the others… well I can just see them spoiling the lucky kid.

"I never thought things would turn out so great." Sokka chuckled lightly at the thought of how far he had come. He was best friends with the Avatar and Fire Lord, sister to the famous Katara, and drinking buddies with Toph BeiFong. He was married to the most amazing girl on Kyoshi. He was Sokka of the Water Tribe, hero of the Hundred Year War, genius behind the growing world of technology, sword master and newly appointed White Lotus member. He was only twenty five and the world was at his fingers tips, and all of it was traced back to a sixteen year old princess who gave her life for the people she cared about.

"I miss you every day." Sokka confessed. She was the girl who taught him what life was about. She showed him what love was, that it was hard, it was compromises, but mainly it was doing everything you could to take care of those people who held your heart. She taught him that when it came to the ones you love, you do anything in your power to save them. She showed him what true sacrifice was, and gave him the strength to take care of his family. "I really wish you could have seen the wedding."

"It's lovely tonight." Suki's voice, quite as she had just woken up from sleep. "The moon is so full."

"I know." Sokka turned, wrapping his arms around Suki's waist. "It's amazing out here."

"Would you like to stay out for a bit longer?" Suki asked, leaning closer to him. "We could go for a walk on the beach."

Sokka pressed his lips to hers in a fiery kiss. The moon seemed to shine as Suki kissed him back. He pulled away, reluctant to lose her lips on his. "That sounds lovely. But I was thinking maybe we could do something else."

"Oh." Suki smirked seductively. "And what is that."

"Well you are supposed to be pregnant by next month." Sokka shrugged. "And if we don't get going on that baby making, they might not believe that we waited."

"We didn't wait." Suki answered smugly. "I think everyone knows we didn't wait. Hell, do you know how many times Zuko or Katara have walked in on us before."

"Countless." Sokka chuckled. "I was beginning to wonder if they enjoyed embarrassing us or if they really are that clueless."

"They're still on Kyoshi right?" Suki questioned.

"Ya. The Gaang's staying a few blocks over." Sokka answered. The smirk on his lips suddenly grew wider. "Maybe we should make some noise then. Make sure those two know to knock first."

"I'm up for that." Suki responded with a flirtatious wink. She stepped back into the house, lifting his hand with her as she stepped away. She sent a sly smile over her shoulder before disappearing into the home.

Sokka smiled. In the bed waiting for him was the woman of his dreams. And sitting in the moon, was the first woman he had ever loved. A light sigh slid form his lips as he turned up to the full moon above them. "Thanks Yue. For everything."

Sokka followed his newly wed wife into the house, and pulled her into his arms before falling onto the awaiting bed.


End file.
